A Matter of Time
by Jaala
Summary: A Shikon shard from the future winds up in Sengoku Jidai, causing many problems for Kagome, Inuyasha, and the rest. On top of that, the well falls under a curse so that nobody can go through it anymore. The group must unravel the mystery of the new shard.
1. The Fickle Well

**Chapter One:  
The Fickle Well**

She could see the sun shining above her, welcoming her into the land of the past. Kagome reached up her hand to grip the edge of the wooden well. She always hated the climb up from the bottom, especially since she was always carrying her ultra-stuffed pack with her. She'd considered travelling light a few times, but she usually found that most of what she brought with her came in handy. So the large pack remained.

Just as she was about to grip the well with her other hand, she felt something fuzzy grab at her hand and yank. The surprise caused her to jump a bit, and she lost her grip.

"Kagome!" She heard somebody yell as she fell back down through the well.

"Ow," she said, looking up at the familiar ceiling of her family's shrine. That wasn't fair. She'd have to get out and do it all over again. Not for the first time, Kagome wished that there was an easier way to go back and forth between the times without jumping into wells.

Sighing, she made her way up the well and into the temple. She felt like an idiot as she turned around and jumped right back in. As she was jumping, she thought she heard somebody calling her name, but it was too late for her to turn back. She couldn't help but smile. She had people waiting for her on both sides.

She landed, once again, in Sengoku Jidai. This time when she looked up, she saw Shippo staring down at her with a horrified look on his face.

"I'm sorry, Kagome! I was only trying to help you!"

Kagome grinned up at him to show she wasn't mad, "It's okay, Shippo!"

She didn't have a chance to hear his response as a red streak jumped over him and went into the well. Kagome turned and saw, as expected, Inuyasha standing next to her, his arms crossed and an impatient look on his face.

"Hello, Inuyasha!" She said cheerfully.

"What took you so long?" He demanded.

She waved her hand at him, "Oh, you know. School."

"Keh!" He said, turning his head sharply. Then he picked her up and jumped out of the well. Once on the ground, he carefully put her down. Shippo ran over to her and hugged her leg.

"Was school hard?" The little fox asked.

Kagome nodded, "Because I've been missing so much, it's hard to keep up."

"You shouldn't bother in the first place. This time's more important than yours," Inuyasha said grumpily.

Shippo grinned, "Inuyasha's been sulking the entire time you were gone. He didn't want to come down out of his tree until you came back."

Inuyasha turned to Shippo, growling, "Shut up!" He raised a fist and made a move towards the little demon.

Kagome moved between them and said in a warning voice, "Inuyasha..."

Inuyasha backed off, his eyes wide. Then he snorted and turned away, folding his arms.

Kagome tried to keep from giggling at him. She was in such a good mood. School was hard, but she had done well on her last exam. Plus, she always enjoyed coming to this time and being with her friends. Even Inuyasha. She was about to walk away to see Sango and Miroku when she heard a voice come from the well. She stopped in shock.

"Hello? Higurashi-san?"

She dashed back to the well and peered in, Inuyasha beside her.

"Hojo-kun??" Kagome's eyes widened.

Hojo-kun was looking around at the well and then looked up at Kagome and Inuyasha. Without another word, he climbed up and out of the well, turning to face Kagome.

"I was coming to give you a present, Higurashi-san, when I saw you fall into the well. I went in to help you..." he trailed off as he looked around at his surroundings. 

"Kagome, who's this?" Inuyasha growled.

Kagome was speechless. It was impossible for Hojo-kun to go through the well. Only she and Inuyasha could. He should have jumped in and just hit the bottom of it in her own time. Why did he end up here? As she was thinking, Shippo jumped up on her shoulder to get a better look at the newcomer. Hojo-kun looked at the fox for a few seconds. Then he smiled.

"He's cute! Is he your pet, Higurashi-san?"

Shippo nearly fell off of Kagome's shoulder. "I'm not her pet!" He yelled at the boy.

"Hojo-kun," Kagome cut off the demon before he could get worked up, "you...er...shouldn't be here."

Beside her, Inuyasha grunted in agreement, "I don't know who you are, kid, but you're in the wrong time." Without another word, Inuyasha shoved Hojo-kun back into the well.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome yelled, and looked over the edge. She was surprised to see her classmate sitting at the bottom, rubbing his back. He didn't go through?

She turned to Inuyasha, who looked at her guiltily.

"Kagome, you did say..." He tried to explain, but Kagome cut him off.

"Sit!" She yelled. Inuyasha fell down to the ground and snarled. Turning back to the well, Kagome leaned over and called out, "Hojo-kun! I'll help you back out, and then we'll go somewhere to discuss some things, okay?"

******

Inuyasha sat in the corner away from everybody else. Sango and Miroku were staring at the boy's strange clothes, and Kagome was settling down beside him. Inuyasha didn't understand why Kagome had sat him. After all, she had said that "Hojo-kun" needed to go back to his own time. As Inuyasha thought again, though, he realized he was just annoyed at the boy. Inuyasha didn't like the fact that he had been able to come through the well, even though he sensed no power from him. Plus the fact that Kagome seemed so familiar with him. Inuyasha stared at the boy with a suspicious look.

"My, Higurashi-san! This seems just like Sengoku Jidai we were studying about in school," Hojo looked around, stopping when he got to Inuyasha. He smiled nervously. "Though I don't remember learning about people with dog ears."

Kagome cleared her throat, "Hojo-kun, I don't quite know how to explain everything to you..."

"Oh! Your present!" Hojo reached into the bag he had and pulled out a wrapped gift. He handed it to Kagome. As she opened it, he explained, "Your grandfather told me you were sick with cytomegalovirus. I did some research and found that some people believe that certain herbs will help you to regain your energy. So I bought this for you. Though...if you do have cytomegalovirus, should you really be running around in this time?"

Kagome laughed nervously while looking at the bottle he'd given her, "I'm fine, Hojo-kun. Thank you."

Inuyasha tried to keep from grinning. There's no way Kagome could like an idiot like him. He was too dense. Inuyasha paused for a second when he began to wonder why he cared so much if Kagome liked the boy.

He didn't have much time to mull it over, though, as Kaede walked in with Shippo a moment later. Kaede looked at Hojo and sighed.

"I don't know what happened," she said. "Though it's apparent to me that the well has been cursed."

Kagome gasped and looked up at her in shock, "Does that mean I can't get back to my time?"

Kaede nodded, "I've tried everything, but the well seems to have been sealed."

"Kaede-sama," Miroku said, "How is it that he was able to come through, then, without any magic abilities?"

Kaede closed her eyes as though thinking, "I don't know."

Inuyasha noticed that Kagome wasn't paying attention. Instead, she was looking down at the bottle of medicine that Hojo had given her.

"Kagome..." Inuyasha said quietly.

She opened the bottle and poured the medicine into her hand. There were many pills, but there was also a glittering shard among them. Everybody looked on in surprise.

"It's a Shikon shard," Kagome said, without really needing to.


	2. Shikon in the Future Tense

**Chapter Two:  
Shikon in the Future Tense**

Kagome examined the new shard that had come from her own time. She had left the hut to take a walk with Hojo-kun, telling the others that she wanted a chance to talk to him to let him know what was going on. He walked patiently beside her as they made their way through the forest. Kagome had a suspicion that Inuyasha was lurking about somewhere, but she didn't let that concern her. He was probably afraid that Hojo-kun was going to try to steal the shard.

The shard. It looked different. Its aura wasn't like the others. That's why it had taken her a while to recognize it. It wasn't until she was actually holding it in her hand that she had known what it was. If a shard had come from the future, did that mean that Kagome and the others would never successfully find all the Shikon no Tama shards? Or was the shard actually from the past, but had somehow crossed over to Kagome's time. Kagome mulled it over. If the latter was the case, then the shard in her hand was the only shard of its kind. However, if the former were true, then there'd be two identical shards out there. One from Sengoku Jidai...and one from her own time, the future. But what did that mean?

"Higurashi-san?" Hojo-kun stopped. Kagome looked in front of her and saw the well. She sighed. That's what she got for walking without thinking about where she was going.

She sat down on the edge of the well and indicated that Hojo-kun should sit, too. He smiled, "It's a beautiful place, isn't it, Higurashi-san?"

Did anything phase this guy? Kagome nodded. "Hojo-kun," she began. "I think it's time to tell you why I've been missing school all this time..." she trailed off.

"But it's obvious!" He said.

"Well, yes, it is, but I thought – "

"Walking around this age must be bad for your health. I'm sure you have to take a lot of time to recover when you return home."

Kagome tried to keep from falling off her seat. "Uh, Hojo-kun? I'm healthy. I'm not sick. I just spend a lot of time here."

Hojo-kun laughed and rubbed the back of his head, "Oh! So I guess you didn't need all those presents I gave you!"

Kagome smiled. "No, I didn't." She paused, "But it was nice of you to think of me." She added in case he felt embarassed.

"I'll remember that now. I'll get you different sorts of presents." 

"Hojo-kun, aren't you curious as to why I spend a lot of time here?"

He blinked as if the answer were obvious, "Because you have friends here?"

Kagome sighed and explained about the Shikon no Tama. She just gave a general overview. Enough to give him an idea of what's going on. He nodded after she finished.

"I see. So what you found in the bottle of herbs was..."

"A shikon shard. Though how it got there is a mystery."

She rested her elbows on her knees and put her chin on her hands. There was a silence as each of them thought about the shard. However, she soon noticed Hojo-kun looking down into the well.

"So, Higurashi-san...we can't get home..." he trailed off. For once, he didn't look happy.

In an attempt to cheer him up, Kagome smiled, "It'll be okay! We'll get the curse off the well and then we'll be able to send you home."

Hojo-kun looked hopefully at her, the reality of the situation seeming to sink in.

"In the meantime," she continued. "We should get back to Kaede's hut so we can get some rest, okay?"

He nodded and followed her as she stood up.

****

"Oi, Kaede, tell me the truth. Can you lift the curse off the well?" Inuyasha asked. She was gathering some plants from the garden, and he sat next to her on all fours.

"I told you I couldn't. It's beyond my power."

"What about Kagome's power?"

Kaede shook her head. "Kagome is still untrained in the miko ways. There's no way she could lift a curse."

Inuyasha paused, "What about...Kikyo..."

Kaede didn't look up. Inuyasha would have thought she hadn't heard him as she continued with her work. However, he could see from her eyes that she was thinking of what answer to give him. "Kikyo-neesan could probably break the curse. I don't think she'd be willing to, however." Kaede straightened up, looking down at Inuyasha. "I would be more concerned about that shard and how it turned up in Kagome's time."

She walked away and Inuyasha sat still, letting her leave. His ears twitched as he heard Hojo and Kagome finally returning. He'd followed them for a bit, then decided to take the opportunity to speak with Kaede. Despite the many times he'd kept Kagome from going back to her home, he never wanted the well sealed. He knew that Kagome wouldn't want that. Of course, he also wanted to get Hojo back to his own time, so that the boy wouldn't get in the way. Inuyasha didn't see what the big deal was with the shard. They were collecting them, after all. Who cared if it came from the future or the present?

Inuyasha walked to his tree and jumped up to settle on the high branch. He allowed himself to close his eyes for a bit. He didn't tend to get much sleep while Kagome was in her time, though he would never admit it to her. He knew that she said her world was safer than his, but he couldn't help but worry that something might happen to her while he wasn't able to protect her. 

As if his thoughts had summoned it, his ears perked up when he sensed a youkai presence. He stood up and looked around at the surroundings. He couldn't see anything, though that didn't necessarily mean much. He jumped down and ran in the direction of the youkai. It didn't take him long to realize that it was coming from the direction of Kaede's hut, where the others were asleep. Inuyasha ran even faster.

When he reached the hut, all was quiet, though he could sense the youkai close by. He could smell it in the air. He looked around, carefully searching the area. He couldn't see anything.

"Inuyasha," Miroku walked out of the hut. "You feel it, too?" He asked.

Inuyasha nodded, taking out Tetsusaiga. A few seconds later, Sango ran out dressed in her exterminator outfit with her boomerang on her back. Kirara was right behind her.

"Where is it?" She asked, looking around with the others.

Miroku just shook his head. Inuyasha growled in frustration. The youkai should be right next to them! Where the hell was the thing?

As if in answer, he heard Kagome scream from inside the hut. Inuyasha was at the door before the others could even react. The scene before him baffled him and concerned him at the same time. Kagome was in a corner, arrow ready to shoot. Shippo was still in her sleeping bag, looking at her in surprise. That Hojo boy was sitting back against the wall, looking confused as hell. Kagome seemed to be struggling against something.

"What's going on?" Inuyasha asked. The youkai presence was even greater in here. The youkai was here. It was...invisible?

"You can't see it?" Kagome yelled at him.

"You can?" Inuyasha yelled back.

Kagome got that steely look in her eye and aimed her arrow towards what looked like the empty wall opposite her. She let go and the arrow flew, hitting something. Whatever it was staggered backwards, if the movement of the arrow was any indication.

Without a second thought, Inuyasha attacked with Tetsusaiiga, aiming for where the arrow had struck. He felt some resistance, and pushed down harder, ready to cleave through the...whatever it was.

"Wait!" Kagome cried.

Surprised at the sudden request for mercy, Inuyasha stopped his downward slash and looked at her. She walked over and got on her knees close to where he was putting his sword. She seemed to be listening intently. Behind him, Inuyasha could tell that Sango and Miroku were ready to attack if the situation called for it. After a few minutes, Kagome nodded and closed her eyes, pressing her hand tightly around the little container that held the shards.

"You can remove Tetsusaiga now, Inuyasha. He's dead." She said, standing up.

"Kagome-chan, what is it?" Sango ran toward her, staring down at the nothing on the floor.

"He was a weak youkai."

"He wanted the shards?" Miroku asked, walking over to stand beside Inuyasha.

Kagome shook her head, "Only one of them. The one Hojo-kun brought from the future."

Inuyasha glanced over at the boy, who was staring in surprise at Kagome. Inuyasha supressed a grin. The boy probably thought she was a stupid, weak little girl. He hesitated in his thoughts when he realized he was proud of Kagome. How strange was that?

Kaede entered the hut at that moment. She stared at the situation and Inuyasha could tell that she could also see the youkai. Miko blood. No wonder nobody else was able to spot it.

"What did it say to you, Kagome-sama?" Miroku asked.

"He apologized. He's not usually aggressive, he said, but he really wanted that particular shard," she frowned. "He died before he could explain why."

Kaede simply nodded, "We'll have to dispose of his remains properly. Kagome and I will take care of that, seeing as we're the only two that can see him.

Sensing that the danger was over, Inuyasha withdrew Tetsusaiga and returned it to the sheath at his side. Everybody seemed content with the outcome and was settling down in various places as Kaede and Kagome removed the body. Kagome came back in a few seconds later. No doubt they were going to wait until morning to take care of the body. She looked at Inuyasha who remained standing in the middle of the room.

"Yes, Inuyasha?" She asked.

He glanced around at the others, know everybody was still awake. In fact, Hojo was still looking at Kagome with something akin to awe. Only Shippo had settled back down and appeared to be snoring lightly.

"Are you hurt anywhere?" He asked softly, so as not to let the others hear. It was a blow to his pride to drop his tough persona around them.

Kagome smiled sleepily and shook her head.

Inuyasha crossed his arms and turned his nose up, closing his eyes. "Good. I had to make sure you wouldn't slow us down tomorrow or anything."

Kagome giggled. He opened his eyes to look sideways at her. She smiled back at him, "Thank you." She said. Then she got down into her sleeping back and wrapped her arms around Shippo to go to sleep.

It wasn't until her eyes were closed that Inuyasha gave the smallest smile back to her.


	3. A Timeless Meeting

**Chapter Three:  
A Timeless Meeting**

Kagome laid the shards out in front of her, examining them carefully. Inuyasha hovered over her shoulder.

"What're you doing, Kagome?" He asked.

She shook her head. As if pieces in a puzzle, all the shards resembled each other. It was only because the future shard was giving off a different aura that Kagome could tell the difference. Realizing that it was useless, Kagome scooped up the shards and returned them to their container. She looked up.

"Where'd Hojo-kun go?"

"That boy?" Inuyasha said. "He left a while ago. Why?"

Kagome stood up quickly, "And you let him go? He's not used to this world, Inuyasha!"

Inuyasha's ears flattened against his head at being yelled at. He stood up in front of her. "What was I supposed to do? Yell at him and force him to stay here?"

Kagome didn't say anything. She just gave an angry noise and left the hut. Kagome knew that Hojo-kun probably wasn't in any danger, but she was afraid that something might happen. He was unfamiliar with the place, after all. She paused outside while considering which direction he might have gone in. There was only one place that she knew of. The well.

She jogged through the forest. She didn't feel very rushed considering he couldn't really go anywhere, but she was just afraid that he might have tripped or something. Hojo-kun never really struck her as an outdoor person. She arrived at the well and saw him sitting on the edge of it, staring down at the grass.

"Hojo-kun! Thank goodness!" She sighed in relief and stopped to catch her breath.

"I tried the well, Higurashi-san. It won't let me go home," he said sadly.

Kagome walked over to sit next to him. "We'll take care of it. Don't worry."

"I need to go home, Higurashi-san! What about school? My family? Aren't you upset that you can't leave?"

Kagome mentally chided herself. Of course he'd be upset. Last night, a youkai had attacked. For her and the others, it was business as usual. For him, it was probably very scary. And she hadn't even tried to talk to him afterward. She shook her head. "I usually stay here for a while. My family understands, and I've just about given up on school."

She'd never seen the boy acting anything other than cheerful. It was somewhat alarming to see him so helpless. She had gotten so used to coming to this time, that she hadn't realized how hard it was for others to adjust. _It's because I belong here,_ she thought. _He doesn't._

"Higurashi-san," he said softly. "Is Inuyasha your boyfriend?"

Kagome's eyes widened at the question, "Inuyasha...and me...? No! No, of course not. We just work together to find the shards! Um...why do you ask?"

Did she imagine it or did he seem a bit relieved when she said that? He shrugged, "I just thought for a while that I was your boyfriend."

Kagome didn't know what to say. Was Hojo-kun her boyfriend? She didn't think so. They'd been out on a couple of dates. And he did give her presents all the time. She looked away and down at her own feet. Did that make them boyfriend and girlfriend? She felt him move beside her and looked up to see him smiling and offering her a flower.

"I wanted to get you a proper present, but I don't think they'd take my money here. This will have to do," he said, seemingly cheered up.

Kagome couldn't help it. She blushed. "Uh...thank you." She took the flower. 

It was then that she felt it. A presence coming from the well. It wasn't a shard, though. It felt something like a youkai, but it was twisted. Different, somehow. Kagome turned and looked behind her, down into the well. She held her breath to try to keep her rapidly beating heart from bursting out of her chest. It was like a darkness enveloping her, cutting off her senses. She tried to peer into the well, but she couldn't quite see. Black hands covered her eyes, her ears, her nose. She'd never felt anything like it, and she felt like she'd never escape from it. It was a single presence. A somebody. She felt like screaming out, but she didn't think she could have made any noise. Her limbs were turning to ice, and she was sure that they would soon fade away, rendering her unable to move. To protect herself. There wasn't a way out. There was no way out...

"Higurashi-san!" She felt a hand on her shoulder, shaking her gently. Her senses were back. She blinked and looked around at the bright clearing, feeling the sun's warmth. Every sense seemed to be heightened as it went from a state of dead to alive. Input flooded in. She could hear the wind blowing gently, Hojo-kun's heart beating quickly in concern for her, her own heart, slowing down to its normal pace. The wood from the well scratched at her hands as she rubbed them slightly against it, revelling in the feeling that she had lost just a few seconds before. It was okay.

Turning her head, she looked at Hojo-kun. He looked very worried.

"Are you okay, Higurashi-san? Your eyes lost focus and you didn't respond to anything for a few minutes," he said.

Only a few minutes? Then why had it seemed like a lifetime? She nodded, "I'm fine, Hojo-kun." Instinctively, her hand went to where she kept the shards, checking to make sure they were all there. They were. Even the one from her own time was safe. She sighed in relief. "I'm fine now."

******

Inuyasha jumped into his tree with one leap and hunkered down to sulk, doubting that he'd be down for a while. Stupid girl! She hadn't even realized that he'd followed her out to find that boy. He'd left right after he'd said that he was her boyfriend. Stupid boy! Who did he think he was to claim Kagome like that? Stupid Kagome! Saying that she ONLY worked with him to find the shards! After all, Inuyasha protected her, didn't he? He'd thought that he and Kagome were a bit closer now than just shard-hunting partners. Inuyasha clawed at the branch below him. He snorted. Stupid boy with his stupid shard and stupid presents and stupid thoughts. It was all stupid.

He was in the middle of his thoughts when Miroku wandered by the tree and stopped, looking up. "Inuyasha!" He called.

"What do you want?" Inuyasha snarled back at him.

Miroku seemed to not notice Inuyasha's bad temper. Either that, or he guessed at the cause and decided not to get involved. "There are rumours of a youkai possessing a Shikon shard to the West. We were going to leave tomorrow morning, if that's okay with you."

Inuyasha just nodded, wishing the priest would go away. He didn't feel like talking to anybody at the moment.

"Kagome-sama's friend should stay here. He's unfamiliar with this world, and would only get in the way." Miroku explained.

_Damn right he's getting in the way,_ Inuyasha thought. But he only nodded in response.

Miroku paused as if expecting Inuyasha to say more. Finally, though, he shook his head and wandered off. Relieved, Inuyasha leaned his head back against the tree he was sitting against. He should have known that Kagome had stuff like that going on in her world. After all, she liked going back so much. And she mentioned many times that she didn't like school. He should have guessed that she had a boyfriend or something. But she'd hidden it from him. That was something that he deserved to know, wasn't it?

He saw them coming from the woods in the direction of the well. Hojo was smiling, and Kagome walked beside him. Inuyasha turned his nose up as the two walked away towards the hut.

****

Kagome went to bed wondering why she hadn't seen Inuyasha for the rest of the day. She hadn't seen him since she'd yelled at him for letting Hojo-kun run off. He surely wasn't still sulking about that. She had meant to tell the others about what happened at the well, but they immediately told her about a youkai with a Shikon shard that they were going after tomorrow. Kagome got sidetracked and forgot. Strange that an experience like that could slip her mind. As Kagome snuggled into her sleeping bag, she just told herself that she'd tell them all tomorrow. 

She opened her eyes once to see if Inuyasha had come in. He sometimes slept in the hut with them, usually sitting up in the corner. He hadn't come in. Miroku assured her that he had spoken to him earlier, and that Inuyasha, while apparently in a bad mood, was alright. Kagome couldn't help a sigh. Inuyasha's bad moods could be tough to handle.

She fell asleep sooner than she expected.

****

"Hello, Ka-go-me-chan." A teasing voice roused her. Kagome reluctantly opened her eyes. She was still in the hut in her sleeping bag. Around her, the others were asleep. Right in front of her was a person wearing black robes and a mask that concealed the lower half of their face. Intense blue eyes stared at her, and from beneath a hood she could see short red hair.

Kagome sat up, yelling in alarm. None of the others roused.

"Shhh...you don't want to wake the others up, Kagome-chan." The person said.

Kagome looked around, "This is...a dream?" She questioned. It felt real, though. She looked closely at her companions. Something was wrong. They weren't breathing. Kagome turned to look at Shippo, sleeping with Kirara. The kitsune was stopped in the middle of a snore.

"Time is a useful tool, if you one how to work with it," the visitor said. Kagome was sure she could here a smirk in the voice.

"Who are you?" Kagome demanded. Time was frozen. Was that even possible? Or was this truly a dream? A very vivid dream.

Ignoring the question, the person continued, "I need a favor of you, Kagome-chan." The figure put a hand on Kagome's shoulder. As they did, Kagome felt a burst of coldness go through her body. Similar to what happened at the well, but smaller in magnitude. Kagome moved to shove the hand away, but found her muscles unwilling to obey her. The person's hand travelled down her arm, taking a leisurely course until she touched the place where Kagome hid the Shikon shards. Kagome could see the smile in the person's eyes. "That shard..."

Mustering up all of her strength, Kagome jerked away and pushed against the person. Kagome fell backwards onto her sleeping bag, breathing heavy. The person just laughed and moved so that they were above Kagome's body, hands on either side of Kagome's head. It was an intimidating position. Kagome didn't have the energy to shove them away again. She didn't have the energy for anything.

"The special shard...you know the one I speak of...it's needed. My master wants it, and you must bring it to him."

"Why can't you just steal it and take it to him?" Kagome asked between breaths.

The person raised their hand and moved it toward Kagome's cheek, as if to touch it. Kagome fliched away, but she had a limited range of motion at the moment. The person gave an amused hum. "There are reasons."

"I'm not going to help you," Kagome said, trying to sound tough, but failing.

The hand touched her cheek, sending another spasm of darkness through her body. "Kagome-chan, isn't this a bit exciting?" The person laughed as Kagome tried to move enough to get away from the freezing hand. The intruder moved their face to where it was just inches from Kagome's. "If you refuse to help me, then the person you care for most will die."

Kagome gasped and shoved away from the hand. She still lay, panting heavily on her sleeping bag. The person raised one eyebrow and sat up. "Also, if you tell anyone anything about me or what's happened, that person will die. That's not a threat. It's a certainty." 

Kagome attempted to sit up, but finally decided on staying where she was. What was this person doing to her?

They stood up, swing back their cloak in a dramatic gesture. "That's all for tonight. I will give you more information when the time calls for it. I just felt the need to introduce myself. Kagome-chan," they bowed. "I look forward to working with you."

Kagome blinked and saw that the person had disappeared. She heard the sounds of the others sleeping. Slight intakes of air, and Shippo's noisy snoring. Outside, the wind rustled the leaves in the trees. Kagome kept taking deep breaths, trying to fight down the feeling of helplessness that had overcome her. "Introduce themselves"?? The person hadn't even given Kagome a name! Kagome paused. She didn't even know if they were a guy or a girl. The voice was a mid-range tone, that Kagome could easily see belonging to either a male or a female. And who was this master that Kagome was supposed to take the shard to?

Kagome's first instinct was to tell the others. Get their help. However...the one she cared for most would die. It was laughable, but Kagome believed them.

Glancing around to make sure none of the others had woken up, Kagome settled down in her sleeping bag. She fell asleep quickly and slept through the night. 


	4. Impulsive Behavior

**Chapter Four:  
Impulsive Behavior**

Kagome woke up at noon the next day, embarassed to see the others gathered around her, ready to go. She'd slept so late! Inuyasha was waiting in the doorway, and left when he saw she was awake. Sango asked if Kagome was feeling okay, but Kagome just nodded and sleepily gathered her stuff.

She had no doubt why she was so sleepy. The visitor from last night had worn her out. Kagome bit her lip, as her first impulse was to tell the others. She couldn't. The one she cared about the most...Kagome shook her head. She didn't want anybody dying because of her. So she waved good-bye to Hojo, feeling guilty for having to leave him, and left with the others.

It was a long journey this time. Kagome knew it would take several days to reach their destination. She'd brought her bike and her pack, though, so she was prepared to camp out. However, Inuyasha hadn't spoken a word to her. Was he still upset about yesterday?

"Kagome-chan, are you okay?" Sango walked alongside the girl.

"Of course, Sango-chan! Why?"

"You just slept so late today, and you look like you have something on your mind."

Kagome sighed. She could see Inuyasha's ears moving, no doubt listening for anything unusual. She also knew that he could probably hear every word that was spoken between herself and Sango. Well, she could use this opportunity. She could at least talk about one of her worries. Might as well.

"Actually," Kagome said. "Sango-chan, is Inuyasha mad at me?"

Sango blinked a couple times, "Why would he be mad at you?"

"He hasn't spoken to me since yesterday morning. I get the feeling that he might be avoiding me," Kagome paused. "I got mad at him because he let Hojo-kun wander off. Though it wasn't a big deal. I wasn't even his fault, really."

"I don't see that he'd start ignoring you because of that," Sango said.

Kagome nodded, "You're right. Maybe I'm just imagining things." She looked back up at Inuyasha, whose ears were turned backwards. Kagome knew for sure that he'd heard their conversation. She hoped that would let him know that she wasn't REALLY mad at him. It wasn't even that major of a fight for the two of them.

Kagome jumped a bit when Shippo hopped up on her shoulder. He looked at her face closely, inspecting it. Kagome sweatdropped. "What's wrong, Shippo?"

"Kagome, you slept a lot, but you still have circles under your eyes!" He pointed out as if he had solved a great mystery. It seemed like something of an accusation.

"Ah, Shippo! I just didn't sleep very well."

"Well, you look horrible!"

"Shippo!" Sango interrupted, chastising the young fox-demon.

"It's okay, Sango-chan. I'm sure I do look pretty bad." Kagome wanted to get off the subject. It was skirting too close to what happened last night. Though there was no way any of them could know about that. After all, it had happened out of time.

Kagome stared down at the handlebars in thought. If that visitor had stopped time for everything but Kagome and themself, that meant that Kagome had aged during that time while the others hadn't. She paused to consider how silly this train of thought was, but she continued with it. If, for some reason, the person kept stopping time on her for long enough periods of "non-time", for lack of a better phrase, Kagome could accumulate enough in age when time wasn't moving to actually get older than Sango, or at least catch up to the others in age. Or did it even work that way? Kagome looked up thoughtfully. Maybe she didn't age at all, either. Maybe just her mental capabilities were kept out of time. Though that would still mean that she was aging mentally and emotionally, which was just as important as the physical aspect. So no matter which way you looked at it, Kagome was a bit older in proportion to when she went to bed the night before. She started counting on her fingers. The person had been there for about 10 or 15 minutes, Kagome would say. That would mean that Kagome was about 10 minutes older than she should have been. What if that person visited once a night and did that? That would mean that in...

Kagome stopped to do the math to figure out how long it would take her at that rate to gain an extra year out of time. My, that was difficult math! Just as she was about to reach an answer, she glanced around and noticed the others were stopping and staring at her. She realized that she had stopped in the middle of their travels to do a math problem.

Kagome looked down, properly abashed, "Sorry, guys. Was thinking of something else."

Kagome continued pedalling, hoping the others would continue walking. It seemed that they were curious, but not too worried about the stop. She mentally chided herself. That was not the way to keep questions from coming up! She told herself that she would ask the mysterious person next time she saw them. Then Kagome caught herself, almost repulsed by her thinking. She couldn't WANT to see that person again! Why was she taking this so lightly? That person had...Kagome suppressed a shudder as she remembered the feeling of the body above her, the threatening hand hovering over her cheek.

_"Kagome-chan, isn't this a bit exciting?"_

She nearly ran into Inuyasha when HE stopped. She stepped backward to avoid the collision and noticed his ears twitching. He was sensing something. 

"What is it, Inuyasha?" Miroku asked.

Inuyasha sniffed the air, looking around. Finally, he turned, facing Kagome, his eyes focusing on her.

"Inuyasha?" Kagome asked, surprised. Why was he looking at her if he sensed a demon?

Inuyasha looked at her suspiciously and with a hint of...was that fear in his eyes? He took a step closer to her, looking around the general proximity before looking at her again.

"Inuyasha, you know what Kagome smells like!" Shippo said, breaking the tension.

The mood broken, the others turned and continued walking. Inuyasha stared at Kagome a few seconds longer, then turned, himself, to continue through the forest. Kagome followed after them, feeling nervous. What was that about? She pedaled faster so that she could catch up with Inuyasha.

"Ne, Inuyasha..." she said.

"I'm not mad at you," he said almost instantly.

"What?"

"You think I'm mad at you. I'm not."

Kagome had completely forgotten about that. Was he trying to head off an argument or avoid a discussion about something? She decided to just take it for what it was: a reassurance.

"I'm glad," she said. "But just now, what did you sense from me?"

He glanced sideways at her, "Nothing."

"You expect me to believe that?"

He didn't say anything.

"So you just stopped the entire group just because you wanted to turn and give me a weird look, is that it?" She didn't know why she was so angry with him over it. She was just tired of him keeping things to himself like that. Why couldn't he just be honest with her?

Though she was one to talk.

When she didn't get an answer, she muttered, "Baka" to him and pedaled faster to get ahead of him. He let her go.

****

They had set up camp by nightfall. Inuyasha sat against a tree, watching the others. Kagome was studying one of her books, though not very successfully if her befuddled expression was any indication. Sango was cleaning Hiraikotsu, and Shippo was curled up next to Kagome, getting an early start on sleep. Miroku walked over to sit next to Inuyasha.

"So, Inuyasha. What did you feel from Kagome-sama today?" Miroku asked.

Inuyasha scowled, arms crossed. "It was nothing! Forget about it!"

Miroku shook his head, "I felt something, also. Like another presence. Very faint, and only for an instant."

Inuyasha hadn't realized that the monk had also sense something at that time. Since Miroku obviously believed him, Inuyasha nodded. "It's strange."

"Perhaps. I think we should watch her closely. Somebody could be trying to possess her."

Inuyasha nodded again, staring hard at the girl with her book. It was a cruel fate that she should be the carrier of the shards and have to deal with the brunt of the attacks. While strong, she was still the weakest of the group, besides Shippo. Inuyasha couldn't bear to think that somebody might be trying to hurt her without him knowing. Physical attacks, demons he could deal with. Possessions, sorcery...that was something different. His style of fighting did little good against that stuff. If something was happening to Kagome, he could do so little for her.

He shook away those thoughts. Why would she choose that Hojo boy for her boyfriend? That boy could protect her even less than Inuyasha. Was it because she and Inuyasha were fighting all the time that she didn't like him?

Inuyasha's head hurt from the confusing thoughts. He felt jealous of Hojo. He never thought about it before, but after everything that he'd been through with Kagome, he'd gotten the feeling that if ANYBODY were to be her boyfriend...it would be him. In fact, something he rarely dared to admit to himself was that he hoped that someday he could take that role. But did she even like him? As anything more than a "shard-collecting partner"?

From beside him, he heard Miroku chuckling. Inuyasha turned to glare at the monk, who put his hands out. "Inuyasha, you make things seem so complicated. I can hear your brain thinking from here."

Inuyasha growled softly, but Miroku ignored it. "If you like Kagome-sama, but you're not sure if she likes you, just be nice to her. You'll be able to tell by how she responds to you."

"Keh! I don't need advice from a pervert like you!" Inuyasha turned his nose up.

But, still, the monk had a point...

Miroku smiled and stood up to walk over to Sango. Inuyasha had no doubt that the monk's intentions in that regard were less than pure. Inuyasha snorted and leaned his head back against the tree. Be nice to Kagome...he could try it. But if she were going out with that Hojo boy, would it really matter?

Night fell and the group started to go to sleep around the fire. Inuyasha stayed awake, keeping watch for any dangers. It was around the middle of the night when Inuyasha sensed a presence, not far from the camp. It was faint, but it was still a threat. Inuyasha stood slowly. He didn't feel that it was a very strong youkai. It probably wasn't worth it to wake everybody for it, and he didn't sense any other presences around.

Without another thought, Inuyasha ran towards the source of the presence he felt. It wasn't very far. Inuyasha soon reached a cave, nearly invisible in the undergrowth of the forest. It was coming from there. The dog demon entered slowly, careful of any traps. The cave was small, but deep. It had a low ceiling, and the ground was unlevel, making it difficult to find his footing. A small trickle of water made its way down into the cave, which descended into the earth. Inuyasha sniffed a couple times. The closeness of the cave was making it difficult to pinpoint the youkai. He took another few steps into the cave before he realized that the demon had somehow gotten behind him

Turning quickly, Inuyasha looked just in time to see the entrance of the cave disappear as a flurry of rocks fell over it. As the entrance sloped down, several rocks fell back into the cave. Inuyasha dodge one, but was struck by another. He rolled, trapped behind the falling rock, travelling unwillingly deeper into the dark cave. He came to a stop, finally, as he hit a wall, the rock that had knocked him down smashed into him. Inuyasha shoved it aside and tried to get his bearings. The youkai wasn't in the cave anymore. In fact, it was running away from the cave at a fairly quick pace. Snarling, Inuyasha ignored his aching shoulders and back, which had taken a beating in his impact with the wall, and ran toward the cave entrance.

The cavein had been well planned. There weren't even any cracks for him to see through. He could guess that the rocks were layered several rocks deep between him and the entrance. It would take forever to move enough rocks to get him out. And even then, he couldn't guarantee that he could do so without causing another rockslide down the cave. He growled in frustration at being tricked like that before he froze. It all came together.

The youkai had trapped him, then had run away. The youkai was heading for the camp, but it had needed Inuyasha out of the way. And Inuyasha had left with the others still asleep, unaware that anything was coming. Inuyasha balled his hands into fists, his claws digging at his palms. Kagome had the shards on her...and Inuyasha was willing to bet that the damn youkai was heading straight for her. 


	5. Shadow Over the Miko

**Chapter Five:  
Shadow Over the Miko**

Hojo had spent the day helping Kaede with her work. Tending to the sick, gathering herbs, and whatnot. It was, overall, very satisfying work, and Hojo hadn't had much of a chance to think about his predicament. There had been one little girl that was sick with what seemed to be the flu. However, the people of this time didn't have any knowledge of what the flu was. Hojo was worried that the girl would go without proper treatment. Her temperature was obviously high and she couldn't move. However, he learned that this era had its own ways of healing people. They may not know the scientific explanations, but Kaede was knowledgable about the proper herbs and ointments to help the child. Hojo was eager to learn about these ancient techniques. They might come in handy whenever he went back to his own time.

It was when he was going to sleep that he realized that he hadn't checked to see if the well was working, yet. He knew it was a silly, trivial thing, and that nothing could possibly have changed concerning the well. If it had, Kaede would surely know about it. However, Hojo's desperation to go home had been quelled by keeping his mind thinking about the day's activities. As he was settling down to go to sleep, he didn't have anything else to keep himself occupied, and his mind inevitably drifted to his home where his family and friends were probably very worried about him.

On a whim, Hojo got up and walked out of the hut, making his way to the forest. It was night, but the moon was out and the stars were bright. Plus, Hojo took vitamins to help his night vision. He could see well enough, and he had memorized how to get back to that well from the village. He walked quickly, as it was chilly outside. He had been in many forests in his own time, but this one felt different. It was, essentially, the same. A lot of trees and groundcover with small animals running around. However, there was something that made it undeniably different. Hojo thought that it might be that the air was cleaner or that there weren't as many lights flooding the night sky. However, that didn't quite explain it. He finally decided that it was simply the fact that the air he was breathing smelled younger, whatever that meant. A rather vague answer, but a satisfying one for him. As he came upon this conclusion, he reached the clearing where the well was located. He paused. Somebody was at the well, their figure brightened by the moonlight.

Hojo stood behind one of the trees, peering at the strange person. It was a woman, wearing long black robes. She had bright red hair that Hojo thought could even be seen in pitch dark. She was leaning against the well, staring into it, deep in thought. Hojo couldn't see her face very well from the distance he was at, but she seemed speculative, as if she had the burden of the world on her shoulders.

Hojo felt like running away. Something about her frightened him, and he wasn't sure why. It was a cold feeling, and thoughts of helplessness and abandonment floated to the top of his mind. He kept telling himself to just go out and speak to her. See if he could try to go through well, despite the odd visitor. But another part of his mind told him to just leave and go back to the hut.

He didn't have to argue with himself for very long. The next second, when he looked up, she was gone. It wasn't that she had walked away, for Hojo hadn't been looking away for that long. She had just vanished, as if she'd never been there. The feelings of despair slowly went away, but the residual traces of fear remained with him, even after the woman's departure. Hojo hesitated at the tree line, staring at the well.

Then, with a shake of his head, Hojo turned and went back to the hut. He would try to go back home in the morning.

****

Kagome didn't know what had woken her up. It was quiet, with barely a breeze blowing. It was only slightly chilly, and Shippo remained curled at her side. She opened her eyes, staring up at the tree-veiled sky above her. She could tell by the steady sounds of the others breathing that everybody else was still asleep. Still not content, Kagome sat up slowly, careful not to disturb Shippo. She looked around. Miroku was sleeping sitting up against a tree. Sango was asleep some distance from him, Hiraikotsu close by her side. Inuyasha...

Kagome looked around again. Inuyasha was gone. Kagome's first thought was that he had felt Kikyo and run off to her. The thought made her feel both angry and sad at the same time, leaving her with a miserable mix in the pit of her stomach. However, she wasn't going to jump to conclusions. There were many things that could have happened that could have caused Inuyasha to leave.

She didn't have time to mull over any of those things, though, as she heard a noise from the bushes beside her. Without time for her to react, a figure appeared from the bushes and jumped on her, knocking her back to the ground. Her head hit the dirt hard as the creature pinned her down. Kagome tried to scream, but the wind had been knocked out of her. She found herself unable to make ANY noise, much less a scream loud enough to wake the others. A strong hand grabbed her by the throat and tightened. Kagoem struggled, but whatever the creature was had much more strength than she did. She was suddenly aware of her own pulse pounding rapidly in her chest as she struggled to gasp in some air. She began to see the tell-tale black spots in front of her eyes. With a last thought of inspiration, Kagome reached out her arm and hit at the sleeping bag beside her. She only felt the hard impact of cloth on dirt. She tried again, gripping this time to tug it a bit, shaking the bag only slightly. She felt some movement. 

The hand tightened.

****

Inuyasha cursed himself, the cave, the rocks, and just about everything else. He hadn't realized that he had injured himself so much during his fall down the cave. He'd been trying to fight through the pain to move the rocks that blocked his passage out when he felt the sticky and warm sensation of blood soaking through his haori. He figured that between the impact of him with the cave wall and then the large rock with him, something must have caused some damage. He wasn't worried about it, as his hanyou healing ablities would take care of it. However, for the time being, it was making it seriously difficult to do the heavy lifting required to get out. And the lifting would have been a struggle for him, even if he'd been healthy, Inuyasha grudgingly admitted.

But the fact of the matter was that Kagome was in danger, and Inuyasha couldn't just sit around in the cave while a youkai was heading for her. This thought strengthened him as he went back to his work, ignoring his injuries.

****

Miroku awoke quickly. He had heard the frantic screams of the young fox demon in his sleep and woke up immediately, alert to the situation. In the moonlight, Miroku could see a youkai leaning over Kagome, strangling her. Shippo was off to the side yelling for the others. Briefly wondering how the youkai had gotten this close without him sensing it, Miroku stood up and grabbed his staff. He heard Sango get up beside him, but he didn't have time to wait. Without hesitation, Miroku ran forward and rammed his shoulder against the youkai. The demon had been taken by surprise and fell off Kagome, releasing its grip on her throat. Miroku scrambled over Kagome and pinned the youkai to the ground with his knees while thrusting the staff under its chin to keep it down. He could see Kagome moving out of the corner of his eye, and was thankful that she was alright. Inuyasha would blame him if anything happened to her while he was away. Speaking of which...

"Where's Inuyasha?" Miroku yelled.

Kagome was rubbing her neck, gasping for air. Her other hand was searching for something, though, and she looked up in shock. "Miroku! It has the shards!" Her voice was raspy.

The youkai had gone limp underneath him, but Miroku didn't relax his grip. He looked down to see that the youkai was holding the bottle of shards in his hand. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a red streak running towards the youkai.

"Shippo, stay back." Miroku warned the young fox demon.

Shippo, however, didn't listen. He reached his hand out, ready to cautiously pluck the jar from the youkai's clawed hands. It was at that moment that the youkai seemed to regain its energy. It let out a horrible screeching noise. Shippo stopped and covered his ears, as the others did. Miroku would have, but he still had to keep his staff under the youkai's chin. His ears started ringing from the piercing noise. The priest felt muscles bulge underneath him as the youkai let out a low growl. Something struck him in the middle of the chest with such a force, Miroku was thrown away from the youkai.

Miroku slid along the ground, slamming into a tree before he stopped. He barely heard through damaged ears Sango yelling "Hiraikotsu!" as she unleashed her own attack on the demon. He knew it wouldn't work. The muscles were getting larger on the youkai, and Miroku knew that their attacks wouldn't harm it. His head aching, Miroku looked up. The youkai had been struck by Sango's boomerang, but to no effect. Sango caught it and crouched, ready to throw it again.

The youkai, however, snorted once. It was standing now, hunched over. It still appeared only as a shadowy form, however, the form was growing larger. It let out a roar as its body began to eclipse the group and reach beyond the treetops. Miroku could do nothing but watch till it stopped growing, then let out another screech. This one was louder than the last. Thankfully, Miroku was at liberty to cover his ears this time, as the others did.

"It still has the shards!" Kagome called from where she was standing, seemingly recovered from her earlier injuries.

Miroku assessed the situation quickly. They could rule out help from Inuyasha. Obviously, he'd been lured away or gone somewhere and couldn't return. He couldn't use his kazaana as it would suck in the shards, too. Their attacks, for the most part, wouldn't work against the youkai. He shook his head. He had never realized how dependent they were on Inuyasha. A group of three humans plus a child youkai stood no chance against a fully-grown, rather aggressive youkai like the one they were facing. 

"Kagome-chan!" He heard Sango yell. Miroku looked up. The youkai had turned and was leaving, presumably having gotten what it wanted. Kagome was stringing an arrow.

"One chance," she said.

"Kagome-sama! You'll attract the youkai to return here. It's dangerous!"

She ignored him, and he was too far way to do anything. She let the arrow fly. It left a streak of golden light as it raced through the air. It hit the target squarely in the back. The youkai yelled in pain, but it was obvious that the arrow had done little damage. However, what Miroku feared happened. The youkai turned, looking for the source of its pain.

The Miroku felt it again. From Kagome, there seemed to be another presence. A darker presence, just below her own self. It confused him. It wasn't controlling her, by any means. However, it was there, and Miroku could feel Kagome's power growing exponentially. Something was possessing her, but Kagome was still aware and in control of her own actions. What was this other force acting through her? Whatever it was, it was giving her strength.

Without hesitation, Kagome readied another arrow. Sango was running to help her, getting Hiraikotsu ready. Even Shippo ran forward. However, Miroku stayed back, observing the young girl. He knew when she shot the arrow this time, the youkai would be defeated.

Kagome released the arrow, and it flew straight for the monster. It left a golden streak once again that was similar in appearance to the first one. Miroku could feel a different power from it, though. The aura was different. Kagome's own miko powers were mixed with something else that Miroku couldn't even begin to describe.

The arrow struck the youkai in the chest. This time, the area that had been hit started to glow. The youkai let out a scream as the power of the arrow consumed its own youki. The glow from the impact brightened to a flash of light that engulfed the entire demon. Miroku knew what was coming and shielded himself with one arm as the youkai exploded. He knew that Sango would protect Kagome and Shippo.

He waited as he felt the rush of the wind run past him, the creature'ss youki being split and dispersing around them. Behind closed eyes, Miroku waited until the light dimmed down and the harsh wind settled to a gentle breeze.

Putting his hand down, Miroku saw that the monster was gone, defeated by Kagome's arrow. But...Miroku knew that Kagome's power wasn't yet strong enough to defeat a youkai of that magnitude. Something had helped her kill it, and Miroku didn't trust it. What he felt had been a force that should not have been found in a miko such as Kagome. However, for the moment, discretion was his best option. If he alerted Kagome, then whatever it was that was possessing her would also be alerted. He stood. It was best if he keep it from Kagome and Sango, though he would have to tell Inuyasha.

****

Kagome knew that it wasn't her own power. As soon as she had strung the second arrow, she felt it. Something else inside of her, ready to be released with the arrow. She didn't know what it was, and it had frightened her at first. However, it had helped her destroy the youkai, and that couldn't be a bad thing.

She knelt down as Shippo ran to her, handing her the shards that he had quickly recovered.

"Kagome-chan, are you okay?" Sango asked.

"Yes. Thank you," Kagome smiled at the young woman next to her. Sango had shielded her from the blast caused by the youkai's destruction. She looked up as Miroku walked over. "Where's Inuyasha?" Kagome asked.

Miroku shook his head, "I don't know."

"I'll find him!" Shippo said happily. He was always excited to be of some use to the group. Without another word, Shippo leaned down on the ground and started sniffing.

"This might take a while," Sango whispered.

Kagome just nodded. Inuyasha must have been trapped somehow. She wouldn't believe that he had just left them to fend off a youkai by themselves. The thought of Inuyasha hurt somewhere was painful to think about, but it just meant that they had to find him as soon as they could. Kagome gathered her pack, making sure to keep her first aid supplies where they could be easily found. When she looked up, Miroku was looking at her thoughtfully. It made her nervous.

She stood up, "Let's go find Inuyasha!"

****

Inuyasha's strength was slowly returning to him as his injury healed. That made it easier to lift the rocks. However, so much time had passed, Inuyasha was sure that the youkai had already attacked the others. Either the youkai had left or it had been killed, because Inuyasha didn't sense it anymore. He was struggling with one large boulder when his sensitive hearing heard voices. He tried to sniff at the air, but he couldn't smell much beyond the rocks that trapped him. He paused, waiting.

"It's a cave!" Shippo's voice.

The others had come for him. Inuyasha fought down the rush of relief he felt. It would be a blow to his pride if the others found him trapped and injured inside a cave, helpless to do anything. 

"Inuyasha!" He heard Kagome call.

"About time you guys got here! I'm almost through the rocks!" He lied. Hearing Kagome's voice somehow made him feel so much better.

"Stand back, Inuyasha! I'll get rid of the rest of them," Miroku yelled.

Inuyasha nodded, though none of them could see. He stood against the side of the cave and dug his claws into the rock. "Okay!" He yelled out to signal that he was ready.

It took a few seconds for him to feel the rush of the air moving past him and out of the cave. Soon he could hear the roaring sound of Miroku's kazaana as it took care of the rocks at the entrance. Inuyasha squinted a bit as light shone through the dark cave. When there was an opening, the wind stopped. Inuyasha took a few seconds to compose himself. He didn't want the others fussing about his injuries, and he didn't want to let on that he had been worried about them.

He stepped through the opening, only to have something jump on him. His first reaction was of defense, but he quickly noticed Kagome's scent close to him as she wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in his chest. He stared down at the obviously upset girl, very unsure of where to put his hands. He settled for letting them hang in the air beside him.

"Thank goodness!" She said, muffled by his haori.

"Oi, Kagome! What's the big deal?" He asked. Why was SHE so worried? Couldn't she see that he was the one that had done all the worrying?

She stepped back, "Why did you leave the camp?" Her relief seemed to have vanished, replaced by worried anger.

Inuyasha looked to Miroku and Sango behind Kagome for some support but found he wasn't getting any. "Er, I felt a youkai."

"And you didn't wake any of us up? Just because you're the great Inuyasha doesn't mean you can fight without us!" She chastised him.

His first instinct was to argue back with her, as he usually did. After all, she was yelling at him without knowing all the circumstances. He didn't know that it'd been a strong youkai at first. However, he remembered what Miroku had told him. Be nice to Kagome.

Fighting down his own anger and natural impulses, he nodded. "You're right. I'm sorry to make you worry, Kagome."

That was harder than it looked. Kagome seemed ready to retort at first, but then what he had said sunk in. She paused, "Oh, uh...it's okay, Inuyasha..." She replied uncertainly.

Inuyasha nodded again and walked past her. Miroku raised an eyebrow as he walked past him, but Inuyasha didn't respond. From behind him, he heard the monk say, "Let's get back to the camp and rest some more. We've all been busy." 


End file.
